Transcript
Media Matters: Nitro double downs at Vegas Ron Capps vs. Jack Beckman, Antron Brown vs. history—ESPN’s major stories at the Big O Tires Nationals—left the final cards to be turned up at Pomona. Race analyst Mike Dunn with the infamous Do-or-Dunn Line, indicating his guess of those still contending to capture one of the four Pro class championships, foretold the Funny Car scene at the broadcast’s intro: “But (Capps NAPA Charger) needs something big.” The “why” of Beckman maintaining his lead into race day was explained by reporter Dave Rieff. “Reason he’s there? Qualifying points.” Then the Valvoline Charger driver divulged his championship plan: “If we can be in the next two finals, it’ll be hard to take the lead from us.” When the eliminations television show began announcer, Paul Page, in his next-to-last broadcast, declared racers “gamble for some high stakes.” Beckman had a hard draw in the opening frame, meeting 15-time champion John Force looking fit in his Castrol Mustang. Dunn selected the pairing as the race’s Marquee Matchup. Force’s strategy? Block Beckman for Mike Neff’s still-in-thechampionship-fight with the Castrol GTX Mustang. Reporter John Kernan, playing an important role this season with his insights, noted “Jack has had Force’s number, winning 18 of 25” races. Beckman quipped, “I just hope it’s 19 . . .” then added, “That camera is not catching the adrenalin here.” Perhaps, but one could feel it, hear it in the throats of those playing at the finals’ table. “If (Force) wins, he’ll have a second-round matchup with Neff,” noted Page, dealing the Joker of a possible up-in-smoke lap by Force to help Neff (who had already won). But that possibility wasn’t happening.
Force even hinted at Beckman’s advantage, gracious in his champion’s seat. “Beckman’s good; he taught my girls.” Force gave him a run as Kernan reported Beckman’s crew chief, “John Smith has slowed down the clutch, taking power out of it.” At the top end, Beckman explained, “I went in thin; need lane choice vs. Neff” that he secured by a .003 second better Elapsed Time. Rieff questioned Neff about that lane’s supposed disadvantage. “He smiled, ‘we have our best runs down the (unfavored) lane.’” But the lane bit him. Page quickly announced, “Neff lights those tires up” while Beckman won with a lucky card, a dropped cylinder. Dunn exclaimed, “I thought they de-tuned it,” with the heat of the day increasing, “but it detuned itself.” An ecstatic Beckman offered this mixed metaphor to senior reporter, Gary Gerould: “I love the Olympics, the training, so wanting to perform. We just took out Superman.” Summarizing Neff’s blowing-in-the-wind odds of capturing the championship Dunn lamented, “If Neff won, he would’ve gone ahead of the (Do-or-Dunn) line. (Now) he’s pretty much done.” “The clutch came in real fast,” Neff quizzically asked no one in particular. “I didn’t expect that. It’s tough to have it go down like that.” Later, Neff’s poor run was attributed to a gambler’s lament, an unlucky draw in the game of drag racing when a $5 part failed. Meanwhile Capps took out both Pedregon cars notable since Cruz’s SnapOn Camry captured the class qualifying pole. Kernan added the NAPA team was “trying to run a 4.08 or .09” and they did. Dunn pointed out “when a crew chief can run his own number, that’s just what they need” meaning he’s on top of his tune up. The most extraordinary lap of the Funny Car day, though, wasn’t Capps winning over Beckman in the finals, though that launched him right back into a near-tie with Beckman; it was how Beckman made it out of the semifinals against Courtney Force’s Traxxas Mustang.
In her own battle to make the Top 5, she shocked the broadcast crew by tripping the redlight for only the first time, and the worst time, of her career. It doesn’t matter that she fouled by only .006 of a second. Red is the Ace of Spades in the drag racing deal, signifying loss and anger particularly when she discovered Beckman “was out of it,” up in smoke. She was left with the realization she would have won if only fate had dealt her some luck, as the Eagles sang in Desperado, “The Queen of Hearts is always your best bet.” Capps, meanwhile, sailed “straight down” the dragway to the finals, leading him to give a nod to his crew chief Ron Tobler “(who) brings a confidence to me, to see the bounce in his step.” One of the more colorful lines of the day came as Lewis Bloom, “Statman” on the broadcast, suggested when “Beckman took out both Force cars today, there should be some points for that.” Bloom’s delivery of a key fact or history of a pairing, driver or team is followed by his catchy “and here’s the stat” leading to an insight that’s always instructive. His findings greatly add to the depth of the broadcast. Then when Tobler said he thought the NAPA car can run “a 4.06 or .07” second pass in the finals, viewers were prepared to expect it. Capps won with a 4.07 ET as the booth yelled “Beckman stumbles on the line.” On the victory Capps explained, “You train and you train for moments like this” altering slightly his earlier “you train and train for months, and it’s time to shine. The bell rings, we’ll get it on” providing validation of Dunn’s forecast “Capps needs something big.” Brown went an entirely different direction. Dunn analyzed, “We’ve seen Antron struggle in qualifying and still win the race,” as Brown answered, “We qualified like this in Dallas” and won. But there they qualified eighth; here, as Gerould reported, the unlucky 13. Brown retorted, “You’re always struggling in drag racing.”
Rieff reported concern in their pit over Brown’s tune-up for this round so viewers were keen to pay attention for a possible upset. It’s fun to point at Dunn when he loses a Tequila Patron Upset Alert, but here he nailed it, a draw to a flush, a correct call. Brown spun up in smoke while Khalid alBalooshi’s Al-Anabi dragster went past before blowing into a big fire-ball. Oiling the track didn’t matter; he knocked out Brown and won the Aaron’s Lucky Dog of the Race. Dunn felt Brown’s pain; “That’s a sinking feeling (for Brown), not a pretty picture (with) parts and pieces from Khalid’s car.” Gerould shined as he coaxed Brown into telling remarks to his intestinal fortitude. “I should’ve blipped the throttle again. Can’t cry over spilled milk; we’ll test here tomorrow. We will come back at the next race.” Rieff later explained in the Lincoln Tech Fix-It Report a minor electrical glitch nixed Brown’s lap. Afterward, did Brown slump back to the pits secretly wishing his teammates pushing him in the points chase—Tony Schumacher’s Army dragster and Spencer Massey’s Fram rail—would lose? Rieff asked him. Like a potential champion Brown explained, “We’re not back there rooting against our teammates. It was a great drag race when Bob (Vandergriff) got the win (over Massey)” in the ensuing quarterfinals. Like Neff, Massey could have catapulted “above that Do-or-Dunn Line” into championship contention with a win, but when Page exclaimed, “Vandergriff does it again,” Dunn felt for him. “For Spencer Massey, that hurts.” “It’s going to be really tough,” Massey swallowed. “Highs and lows, highs and lows. Just going to have fun” as he then walks all the way back to the pits, dealing personally with the pain of massive disappointment. alBalooshi and Shumacher’s semifinals battle “is a huge matchup,” Dunn alerted viewers, in the Army’s charge to gain on Brown.
Rieff added, “It means it’s get-after-it time!” Schumacher took Rieff’s command to heart, running the quickest lap of the race, “a 3.77, a monster pass,” Dunn yelled. Bob Vandergriff felt his C&J Energy Services dragster “can run a 3.79 in the final; try to stay close” against Schumacher. Dunn surmised, “That U.S. Army car has been running well all day” preparing viewers with his advantage. Vandergriff missed his forecast time in the finals, but when Page excitedly piped up “Tony fades! Tony fades! Takes down Schumacher and gets his second win,” the fans screamed. “Here comes Vandergriff!” as he headed back to the start line, running to the cheers in the grandstand (“Fans go wild!”) just like his win in Dallas. This time he remembered to take off his helmet. As Vandergriff reaches his crew, Gerould arrives in a cart, noting this is probably a first time for the award ceremony at the start-line. He captures Vandergriff’s remark, an excellent take on the eliminations. “Ahh, it’s just a great day; no give-up on this team.” Key moments of the race included Warren Johnson’s hole-shot win in the opening lap, taking his GXP for his first at Vegas in ten years; J.R. Todd’s BVR dragster trailed a big fireball in the quarterfinals like a cherry bomb exploding in a pumpkin, “Parts went everywhere.” Developing his own highlight reel, Todd Lesenko’s Tap it Brewing Dodge, trying to get back in the field, blew up in the fourth qualifying round, trailing flames and parts well down track. Andrew Hines’ Screamin’ Eagle Harley failed in the quarterfinals to a distant No. 11 in the points, John Hall’s Sovereign/Star Racing Suzuki. “Almost unheard of,” remarked Page. Hines called it the worst weekend of his racing career.
A special feature had affable Steve Johnson taking viewers along for a ride on his Pro Stock Motorcycle Suzuki with an “eye-glass” shot on his helmet. Page remarked, “I don’t think he looked at the track all that much” as the view was mostly the bike’s tank. Jason Lines goes “red by a mile” observed Dunn in the Pro Stock semifinals, killing his Summit Camaro’s chance to keep the Mopar Avenger of point’s leader, Allen Johnson, in sight. Page added, “Only his second of the season.” “If Allen Johnson wins (the race), it pretty much wraps it up for him,” noted Dunn. Against the tough Vincent Nobile Mountain View Tire Avenger, Johnson won by nearly a car length. The FastNews Network reported “This is Johnson’s sixth National event win this season and his 15th career National event win.” Roy Johnson, ace engine builder with his son, interviewed afterward thought “It’s been a long time coming. I don’t get too excited until it’s over.” Getting out of the car, Johnson sighed, “It’s a big relief; 17 years we’ve been out here” meaning 40 percent of their wins occurred in this single year, 2012. Their first championship title now expected at Pomona proves H. Jackson Brown’s Life’s Little Instruction Book adage: It takes lots of years to be an overnight success. Connect with
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